Aflame
by FuMaouChu
Summary: Raised in the darkest hell imaginable, will Naruto's spark of goodness prevail? Or will he succumb to the darkness. Naruto dares to dream of a world he will shape. But will it be paradise? Or will it be a kingdom of fire and ashes. ###### Currently in the process of making this into a comic! ######
1. Transfer

AN: _This story sprung from an idea that took hold from various muses. The root is something I have come to feel and understand from years of fanfiction, of canon, of fanon, and my own headcanon. Naruto is, for lack of a better term, genetically predisposed to be a positive, energetic, largely optimistic individual. Stories with the darkest of Narutos often have a moment where an appeal to his better nature is made, and it wins out, simply because Naruto is, at his core, a good person. A kind person._

_My idea tackles Naruto's natural goodness head on. What if he was put in a place, essentially from birth, that was one of the darkest and most vile places the world has to offer?_

_A place full of the worst of humanity, where a kind soul is a weak one, and a weak one is a dead one. Where cruelty is not just expected, it is essential. _

_What would happen to that essential spark of goodness that fills Naruto's soul with what I suppose is the "Will of Fire." Would it falter and be extinguished? Would it persevere? Or, against all odds, would it grow ever stronger?_

_No matter his trials, in every story, Naruto dares to dream. To defy the fate he was given. _

_Watch him struggle. Cheer for him. Revile him. _

* * *

**Aflame**

**1**

**Transfer**

* * *

The sound of gossip and chatter died down as the teacher slammed his hand down on his desk, initiating his feared "Giant Head" technique. As the class came to order, he smiled smiled.

"Welcome back, I hope you all had a good break over the weekend. Now, I know we're close to graduation, but I'm pleased to announce that we're getting a new student today. He should be arriving shortly, and I'd like you to all be on your best behavior. This is his first time in Konoha, and it would reflect poorly on us all if his first impression is a bad one."

As one, the class responded in the affirmative. As if on cue, the door to the class slid open, and the new student strode smoothly into the room.

His head was shaved to stubble, save for a single golden strip in the middle, hardly any longer than the rest. His eyes were covered by a black cloth, wrapped tightly about his head, each of his cheeks was marked with three whisker-like lines. His shirt was sleeveless and black, and black gloves, fingerless, covered hands wrapped tightly in bandages which extended up to his elbows. Black hakama pants covered his legs, a bright and gaudy orange sash adorned his waist. His feet were bare, save for the bandages that wrapped them like his hands and forearms.

The teacher was cleared his throat, "Naruto Uzumaki?"

The boy nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips. When he spoke, his voice was soft, with an unusual roughness to it. "Yes. Naruto Uzumaki, reporting for class. I've missed a lot, haven't I? Bah, coming in at the end of the season was probably a poor move on my part, though, I do like this class. Such interesting faces."

Naruto's head tilted to the side as a blonde girl opened her mouth, and just as quickly snapped it shut. He smiled broadly, "Ask your question! Please, I would love to answer."

The girl's eyes widened, and she shook her head, despite the boy's eye's being covered. His smile fell, and he nodded.

The teacher cleared his throat, and handed Naruto a stack of papers, which the boy regarded for a moment with his covered eyes before laughing loudly, his hand rising to rub the back of his head.

"I can't read this sensei." He waved his hand in front of his covered eyes, "I'm more than able to get around, but I'm effectively blind. Can't read. Maybe someone could help me while you continue your lesson?" The boy's head tilted to the side, and his eyebrow rose, "Perhaps the pale princess in the back? She seems the sort to have a soft voice. Or am I incorrect?"

The girl in question sank in her seat and Naruto laughed softly. Without waiting for the teacher's response, he walked to her seat, and sat next to her. He turned his covered eyes towards her, and smiled warmly, his mouth opened to make introduction-

"Naruto-kun, I had a seat in mind for you."

The boy's mouth shut with an audible click, and his head snapped towards the front of the class. "I would much rather sit here Iruka-sensei. Hyuuga-hime has an agreeable presence, and has no objection to my sitting here. I would object to being seated elsewhere, with a few exceptions. Still, I would not appreciate being moved." His short speech ended with a warm smile and curious tilt of his head.

Iruka frowned, and nodded slowly. "Alright then, I suppose that will work. Now, today class, we're going to learn about-"

Naruto blocked out Iruka's voice as he turned to face the Hyuuga girl again. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service."

The girl seemed to shrink even more. "H-Hi-Hinata Hyu-Hyuuga."

The blonde nodded sagely, "Hinata-hime then. Better than Hyuuga-hime, don't you think?"

She nodded, her face turning a shade of red that Naruto felt would be wonderful to see.

"This will be unpleasantly awkward for me Hinata-hime, if you insist on being so bashful."

Again she nodded, and Naruto's hand twitched towards his face, he was absolutely certain her face was vibrantly red.

He sighed.

"Ow! W-why would you-"

Naruto's hands flew up, a look of exultation on his face, "Ah! She speaks! What's more, she speaks with such a lovely voice. I do apologize for the boop to the nose."

The girl looked at him with wide eyes, her hand on the tip of her nose. A tiny smile appeared on her face, "N-Naruto...you're...strange."

His grin grew impossibly wide, "But of course!"

* * *

The next day, Naruto walked at a sedate pace to where a boy sat alone. That is to say, as alone as one can be with a large number of babbling, squealing, and dreamily sighing adolescent girls some twenty feet away.

"You are Sasuke yes? Sasuke Uchiha?"

A grunt was given in response, a grunt in the affirmative at least. Naruto hummed thoughtfully.

"Hinata-hime has told me about this class that I've joined, she's highly observant, did you know that? She tells me that you are the best in the class, even better, you're the 'golden boy' of the village. You're adored by young and old, and lusted after by the same. You're aware of this, but you remain aloof, detached. Why is this, hmm?"

The boy did not respond, not even a noncommittal grunt to acknowledge that the blonde had said anything at all.

"Do you want to know what I think? Regardless, I'm going to tell you." The blonde smiled and stretched languidly, "You're better than them, right? You're the Last Uchiha! Of course you're better. They're plebeians, peasants." The boy's voice lowered in an almost conspiratorial manner, "They're _sheep_. But you Sasuke? You're no sheep. You're superior, a prince, a _predator_. You're a predator among prey. But what are you? A tiger? Wolf? Perhaps you're a lion, hmm? King of the jungle."

The boy was silent. The Uchiha was distinctly aware that his gaggle of fangirls was also silent, straining to hear the conversation between the object of their affection and the strange newcomer. He usually didn't talk to his classmates, but this one had intrigued him. "A hawk. I'm a hawk."

Like he did with Hinata, Naruto threw his hands in the air in an expression of happiness. "Wonderful! This will be more interesting now that I know you can speak. So you're a hawk? Yes, I can see that. High above your prey, your superior eyes keeping careful watch for any weakness, any flaw you can exploit. And when a weakness is spotted? You swoop down, your razor sharp talons extended to sink into your prey before taking them off to your favorite perch. But what happens to the hawk when he is grounded? When his magnificent eyes cannot view all that is below him? When his talons are buried in the ground as he shuffles along, his wings tattered and his feathers clipped?"

The response came quickly, "If the hawk has been reduced to such a weak state, then he is little better than what he hunts. A strong hawk would never fall that far."

"And what if that strong hawk saw, on the ground, a wounded mouse?" The blonde was no longer standing, but had fallen into a crouch, his face roughly level with the Uchiha's.

"He would take the opportunity and eat it. If another predator let it escape after wounding it, then the meal is the hawk's. By seizing the opportunity, the hawk remains strong."

"What if the mouse didn't escape?" The smile had fallen abruptly from the blonde's face, replaced by a look of utmost seriousness. The Uchiha found himself wishing he could see Naruto's eyes, perhaps to glean the meaning of this conversation from him.

"What else could it be?"

"A trap. Laid by a predator far more clever than the hawk. Not a wolf, or a tiger, or even a lion. No, those are all too large, too grand. The wolf would not sit alone and wait for a hawk. The wolf moves with its pack, and as a team hunts greater prey than mice. The tiger moves alone, but the hawk would have seen him from the sky, lying in wait. The lion? The lion is too proud, he sits back and lets the lioness hunt, for he is too great to hunt on his own. What then, would lure the hawk down to earth in such a manner?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I don't know."

The blonde smiled at the answer, "Of course you don't. You are, after all, the hawk. You would never think of the mouse as a trap. Only as an opportunity." Naruto reached out and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, hoisting him to his feet as he stood. "What the hawk sees as an opportunity is a trap, laid by the clever fox. Perhaps the fox is not as cooperative as the wolf, or as strong as the tiger, or as proud as the lion. But the fox is clever. The fox knows patience. I am not a sheep Sasuke, I am not prey. I am a predator, like you."

Sasuke pulled his arm away from the blond, "So you are a fox then? Are you telling me to watch for your mouse?"

The blonde laughed. "Of course not! This conversation _is_ the mouse." Before the words could register, the blonde's hand snapped forward, slamming into the Uchiha's nose with an audible crack, and enough force to send him staggering back.

Another fist came about, slamming into Sasuke's stomach and causing the boy to double over. This proved to be a poor move on his part, as a knee rose and connected with his already injured face, knocking him upright and into the path of another fist, this one impacting the side of his head.

"Do you know why predators fight Sasuke-chan?" The blonde's voice was a snarl, the cheery tone replaced by something darker than Sasuke could understand. "Predators fight-" The blonde's hands clapped onto Sasuke's ears, and a roaring sound told him that one of his eardrums had ruptured, "-for territory!" A leg snapped out and slammed into his knee, staggering him and making him drop to a kneeling position. He tried to rise, to raise some sort of defense, a token attempt at retaliation. But the onslaught was too fast, too raw, too unexpected. "For the right to hunt!" The blonde's hands grabbed the sides of his head, and brought it forward into a rising knee. A flurry of blows landed on Sasuke's face, above it all, he heard shouting, the panicking voices of his classmates, the academy teachers. "Predators fight for dominance!" The blonde ceased his furious onslaught, grabbing Sasuke by his bloodied shirt and bringing him close to his face. "By raising yourself above your peers, you singled yourself out. By the image you have allowed to be cultivated, those that would have been willing to support you were overconfident in your ability to defend yourself. You say you are a hawk? You are nothing but an overconfident rooster, so proud of his own feathers that he doesn't see the fox in the hutch with his hens until the fox's jaws close around his neck as well. You are a disappointment, and not worth the effort it took to beat you. Pitiful." With a sigh, Naruto let the boy drop to the ground.

Turning away from the bloody and beaten Uchiha, Naruto put his hands behind his head and knelt to the ground. "Yūgao-chan, Tenzo-san. You got slow."

A pair of ANBU blurred into existence behind him. The woman, wearing a mask in the likeness of a cat. A pair of shackles hung from her hand.

Naruto only laughed.

* * *

"Naruto, I know things were handled...differently, where you lived. But that's not how things are done here." Iruka sat behind his desk, Naruto sat in a chair before him. Though his hands were shackled and he was flanked by a pair of ANBU, the way he sat in the chair was entirely indicative of indifference. "Not only did you attack a fellow student, a fellow citizen of Konoha, but you did so in such a savage way...Sasuke will be in the hospital for several days, even with medic-nin tending to him." The teacher sighed and looked at the file in front of him. He had only had opportunity to skim it, but the contents were less than pleasant. "Why Sasuke?"

The blond shrugged in a noncommittal way. "I was told he was the strongest and most skilled student here. I wanted him to prove it. He didn't. I also saw an attitude in him that will only get him and his future teammates killed. I pointed it out in a way he could understand." The blond raised his shackled hands and rattled the chain. "The bonds we make might restrain us somewhat, but ultimately they will make us stronger, no matter the pain they might bring." He sighed and straightened out in his seat, "I understand that I've broken a rule. I'll accept whatever punishment is given."

Iruka was at a loss. Naruto had gone from cheerfully peculiar to stunningly savage, before turning about again and seeming remorseful, or at the very least resigned. He had no idea of how to punish this behavior. He was out of his depth, he felt. In an adult, such behavior would result in a term of imprisonment, at least. But with a child? With _this_ child?

"Tell me about it." The teacher almost stopped himself, the words tumbled from his mouth, almost of their own violation. Naruto's covered eyes seemed to regard him for a moment. He rattled his shackles once more, and jerked his head at the ANBU that flanked him. With a nod from Iruka, and an audible sigh from the female ANBU, Naruto was unshackled and left alone with the teacher.

"You want to know about where I grew up, hm? Where I was raised?"

Iruka gave a slow nod in response.

The blonde was silent, his mouth a grim line. "Its proper name is Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. That's a stupid name. Correctional Facility implies that reformation is its goal. This is not the case. It sits in the volcanic mountain range to the far south of Konoha. Well within its jurisdiction, but far enough that most don't even know it exists. A roughly triangular island that sits in the center of a lake of molten stone, connected to the safety of land by a bridge hardly wide enough for a single cart. The sun is a distant dream, hidden behind the choking smoke of the mountain beyond the walls. The yard is little more than a glimpse of the freedom that was once had. Few venture there anymore, its safer in the lower levels. Though safe is a relative term I suppose. Its proper name is Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. We call it Yomi."

The picture Naruto was painting was grim, and Iruka felt his heart going out to the blonde. The question on his lips was cut off as Naruto continued.

"So we stayed in the darkness, in the burning heat of stone submerged in lava. Because we were fearful of the guards. The guards that could use chakra, had weapons, while we were sealed off, stripped to nothing more than rags. The guards that would beat us for the smallest infraction. Why? Why not. We were criminals, scum, not worth the food they dumped into the pits we called home. Don't you think it's odd Iruka-sensei? That the only kindness I found was given by murderers, rapists, traitors, and enemies of state?" At some point, the blonde had risen from his chair, and stood by the open window, looking out at the courtyard where minutes earlier he had attacked Sasuke. He smiled as a cool breeze blew into the room. His smile fell as Iruka spoke.

"Why were you there?"

The blonde spun, fury pouring from his body in palpable waves. Through clenched teeth, he spat the words with unveiled hatred. "_I don't know._" A snarl escaped him, and he brought his fist down on a nearby desk, crushing it to splinters. Suddenly, his rage dissipated, like mist on a sunny morning. "I don't know why I was there. It's all I've ever known. My first memories are off that place, the darkness, the heat, the scent of blood and sweat and sex and rotting, charred flesh. The only currency there is strength and guile. That is how I grew up. Raised in the bowels of hell by the strongest and most vile of Fire Country's criminals. They're my brothers and sisters, my aunts and uncles. The rules I respect are those I was raised with. Do not expect more of me. You will be disappointed." He looked back out the window and a wry smile graced his lips, "Sasuke should be glad I didn't just slip a knife between his ribs. I wasn't the strongest in Yomi, of course. I'm a child, how could I be? But I was quick with my hands, and fast. I could escape, and when I did, I always came back with a blade and intent." He shook his head. "Iruka-sensei, I'm going home. I need to rest. I apologize for the disturbance and commotion. It will not happen again. Probably."

* * *

Naruto did not go home. Not when he was free to feel the air in his hair, feel the sun on his skin.

"You came." Naruto looked out over Konoha from his perch atop the stone head of the Yondaime, his eyes unwrapped, a bento box open on his lap.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? This view. I don't come up here as much as I should. Nobody does. It might remind them of what they fight for." The newcomer sat next to Naruto, his hand darting around Naruto's chopsticks to grab a riceball.

Naruto laughed mirthlessly, "You know this isn't what I'm going to fight for."

The man laughed, his mouth full of rice. "That's right, your dream. Have you thought about it more?"

The boy shrugged, "I'm not so prideful to think that I can accomplish it on my own. You told me about the Will of Fire, about the 'King.' My King is my dreams. My aspirations. So I cannot grasp it on my own? I will not stand on the backs of those in the way of this dream. Perhaps I will leave a trail of blood on my path, but I do not want this." The blonde looked over the village, feeling the cool breeze on his face. "I was shaped by violence and darkness. I would spare the rest of the world these feelings. This conflict. It is said that the elder son of the Sage of Six Paths believed that strength was the way to peace. The younger felt that the path to peace was love. Neither is right. Neither is wrong. I told Iruka earlier today that the bonds we make, no matter how painful, ultimately make us stronger. I will pave the path to my dream with strength and fire. But I will walk it with those that I have made bonds with."

He turned to look at the man, finally. His dark face marked by the passage of time and innumerable trials.

"Hiruzen...the day will come when I challenge you. When we fight. One of us will die. But it will be a beautiful and joyful day...because the day I challenge you, is the day my dream can be achieved. And no matter who the victor of our battle is, the Will of Fire will see that peace is done."

The Hokage looked at Naruto, and smiled. "I look forward to that day. To the man you will become."

Naruto smiled back, and slowly began wrapping the cloth back around his eyes. "I'll become a man to make you proud. Just, try not to get too old and crotchety by then. I've no desire to kill an invalid."

The old Hokage batted Naruto on the back of the head before rising and placing his hands behind his back. "Naruto, I'm sorry. For leaving you there. For not being able to find you until it was too late. For so many things."

The blonde shrugged. "It's not your fault. I'm not who I would have been otherwise, I guess. But I wouldn't trade who I am now for anything. I am who I am. This is my life. Gotta make the most of it, right?"

The man nodded, "You are wise beyond your years, a prize hard won I'm sure." The old man turned to leave, and paused, "Oh, Naruto...do try not to attack any of your classmates again. You only have a few weeks until graduation, I can only placate the council so much."

With that, he left.

As Naruto sat alone atop the monument, he groaned. He needed social skills. Badly. According to Hinata, the most socially involved person in his age group, and thus the single person most equipped to help him with this particular issue, was Ino Yamanaka. Who was one of Sasuke's most devoted fangirls.

"Imagine my joy."

* * *

Long after class had been dismissed, Ino sat silently behind the counter of her family's flower shop. The events of the day still mystified her. First, the peculiar new student, Naruto appears. Mysterious in every way, the way he carried himself showed his every emotion to anyone who knew what to look for, but allowed them no further than the surface. His voice moved between cheerful and melancholic in the span of a heartbeat, concealing whatever the true intent behind his speaking could be. His eyes, the windows to his soul, were covered, blocking any insight they might give, while showing something else. He could see just fine, even through the thick black cloth that covered his eyes.

The bell on the door rang, indicating someone had entered the store.

"Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, please, let me know if you need assistance." The greeting was well rehearsed, and given without a glance at who had entered. The visitor did not respond, so Ino returned to her thoughts.

This person who was simultaneously so open yet so guarded had managed to strike a sort of friendship with the most timid girl in the class, showing a remarkable gentleness and grace that not many possessed. And then he throws all that away and savagely beats Sasuke in the single most horrifying display of aggression she had ever seen.

"I didn't realize..."

The visitor had finally spoken up, and Ino looked at him. And almost screamed. The new boy, Naruto, was standing in her store, smelling the flowers.

"I didn't realize that flowers smelled so good. A little overpowering, perhaps, but pleasant nonetheless." He snatched up a flower and approached the counter, heedless of Ino tensing up, panic rising in her chest.

He held out the flower to her, "Good afternoon to you, angel." His smile was melancholic, wistful.

Hesitantly, she took the flower from him. A yellow tulip. She stammered, unable to find words. The extent of knowledge that most boys had to flowers were that red roses were romantic. But a yellow tulip? Her heart began to melt.

The boy cringed, though his smile remained, only falling slightly, "Damn, I'm sorry, I got the wrong flower didn't I? It felt like a tulip, and I think it was yellow, but I get colors wrong sometimes. Damn."

"No. No. It's right. You got the right one." She felt her face burn, "Charmer."

His melancholic smile melted away, replaced by one of joy, "I am only charmed."

Propping herself up on her palms, she looked at the blonde that stood before her, _really_ looked. She liked what she saw.

"So how can I help you, charmer?"

The blonde blushed and fidgeted with his sash, "I uh...don't really..." He groaned and turned away from her, "I...don't know how to...get along with people. Socialize. Social skills. I don't...have them."

She looked to the flower in her hand, "I don't know about that...you seem to know what you're doing."

He looked towards her with unseen eyes, a wry smile appearing. "That's different...somehow. What I mean is...Sasuke. How I handled that. It was wrong. Where I was raised, that's how we dealt with things. But that's not...right. Not here. Not with those that are supposed to be my comrades."

For a long while, Ino was silent. She regarded Naruto with focused intensity, and he was well aware of this. Finally, she came to a conclusion. Naruto did not regret what he had done. He felt that he was right in his actions, regardless of the consequences. He was still attempting to prevent any future transgressions. And he had come to her to help him.

She flashed a dazzling smile. "Come on charmer. I'll give you a crash course on 'when to beat someone's face in, and when not to.' Sound good?"

Her fellow blonde pumped his fist in the air, "Hell yeah." He held out a hand to her, and with a broad smile on his face produced a vibrant orange lily. "So its a date then angel?"

She felt her heart melt. "O-only if you're paying."

He laughed, "Of course. Thought I don't know anyplace that's...anything. No idea where anything is of course."

* * *

Naruto flopped onto his bed, marveling at how soft the mattress was compared to a few handfuls of straw spread on a stone floor. He was pleased with himself, immensely so. In the span of a day, he had established himself among his age group. Established himself thoroughly. None would forget him, none would doubt him. None would take him lightly.

He smiled, briefly, and thought of the day to come.

Tomorrow, he would take steps to soothe over any doubts Hinata might have of him after his attack on Sasuke. Hinata was a pale princess, and he would treat her as delicately as she needed to be treated.

Tomorrow, he would bring Ino another flower, a hibiscus perhaps. Ino was a sun kissed angel, and while she might look delicate, some rough handling would leave her none the worse for wear, though flowers grew the most beautiful with careful tending.

Tomorrow, he would begin making connections with his classmates. After all, they might be of use.

* * *

AN: _Whew. Done with that, finally. When I brought this idea up to my friend and (sometimes) betareader, I affectionately referred to this Naruto as Mohawk!Naruto. I will continue to do so, though he presently doesn't have much of a mohawk, he will, in time. _

_Some of you might think that this Naruto's characterization is wildly inconsistent, and you'd be right. This is intentional. He swings from befriending Hinata in a rather silly way to beating Sasuke to a pulp with gleeful abandon to bitterly giving Iruka the Cliff Notes of his life in "Yomi." Then he shares riceballs atop the monument with the Hokage whilst telling him, in no uncertain terms, that he plans to kill him. Then, that done, he proceeds to effectively charms the (figurative) pants off of Ino, while telling her that he lacks social skills. _

_I will tell you this. Naruto was raised by murderers, rapists, thieves, traitors, enemies of state (read: politicians), and missing-nin. He is not above lies and manipulation to get what he wants, by any stretch. Naruto is not honorable, he is not kind. He is pragmatic and opportunistic. He knows how to deal with people, but not necessarily their _rules_._

_Somewhere in the chapter was glimmers of Naruto's actual personality, what he's been shaped into by his time in "Yomi." I'll leave it to you to puzzle out which bit it was._

_Questions? Comments? (Constructive) Criticism? Please, for the love of god, review. If you favorite or follow the story, leave me a review. Please, for the love of all the gods in all the cosmos in all the dimensions of all the everything. Review. It fills me with joy and gives me inner strength. _

_P.S. Curious to see if anyone knows what the flowers Naruto used on Ino signify. _


	2. The Cost of Doing Business

AN:_ To anyone worried about pairings, don't be. Even if there are glimmers of romance in this story, Naruto is a rather broken individual. Any pairings that might occur, in all likelihood, won't last and/or end well. That said, I have a tendency to let a story write itself, if a legitimate pairing emerges, I won't ax it __**solely**__ because you guys dislike it. If a pairing...writes itself out of the story though, that's another matter entirely._

_In any case, just a little tidbit here; There's something to be said about someone that moves towards their goal with unflinching resolve, uncaring about the obstacles ahead, and indifferent to the results of their actions._

_Some people might call that determination, drive._

_I call it obsession._

_And it is __**terrifying**__._

* * *

**2**

**The Cost of Doing Business**

* * *

Naruto, age twelve, stood in the darkened hallways of a building in Konoha's Akasen district.

Naruto, age twelve, let the bloodied body of the door guard fall from his hands.

Naruto, age twelve, calmly knocked on the door at the end of the hall.

The door opened, and the well-muscled and tattooed man behind it saw what Naruto had left in his wake.

"Good afternoon Jun-dono, I have a business proposition for you. Would you be so kind as to send one of your girls to fetch sake for us while we discuss it? Perhaps some dango as well, I find myself famished."

The man nodded and moved aside to let the blonde into the room, unable to remove his eyes from the blood that had splattered on the walls, the ceiling, the _everywhere_.

As he turned to look into the room, he took stock of the boy that had essentially butchered his way into the bowels of his headquarters. He didn't look like much, blonde hair that was essentially stubble, the beginnings of a mohawk in the center of his head, a sleeveless black shirt, pants. Nothing of note really, save for the gaudy silk sash he wore. And the fact that he had apparently killed his men whilst _blindfolded_.

Jun sat down, shakily accepting the saucer of sake from one of his girls, waiting for the boy to have one poured for him before taking a tentative sip. The boy followed suit before inhaling sharply and laughing, "So this is proper sake. Jin-oniisan made his own, but damn, this is so much better." The boy drained his saucer before turning his attention fully on Jun, who felt the boy's covered eyes boring into him, "Jun-dono, Jin-oniisan told me you would be willing to talk business, and yet, when I told this to your man at the door, despite knowing the proper entrance phrases and knocks, I was denied entrance. Even after saying that I consider your brother mine, and would extend the same consideration to you, I was still denied entrance. Which lead to the...unfortunate situation in the hall out there. However, if you are willing to let bygones be bygones, we can begin speaking of business, and move on with our lives."

The boy spoke quickly and concisely, not allowing Jun a space to interrupt, though now that he had a chance to speak, he found himself nodding numbly.

The boy threw up his hands in an expression of childish glee that seemed disturbingly out of place coming from someone as apparently ruthless as he, "Wonderful! Now, I'm here to offer something that would be mutually beneficial. It would put money in the pocket of your boss, and take off your hands several...unprofitable accounts. Basically, there are debts I wish to buy from your organization."

Jun held up his hands in what he hoped was a placating gesture, "Now, h-hang on kid. If there are any debts you owe us, I'm sure we can just let them go, this once. Uh, good faith and a-all."

The blonde frowned, "You misunderstand Jun-dono, like I knew you would. Let me spell it out for you. You are the primary boss of your organization's operations in Konoha. This means that you control the accounts of numerous debtors. These are debts that have been accumulated from both illegal and legal venues. However, many of your debtors are shinobi. You are unable to collect from them because your men are untrained thugs, and, were I in your position, I would hesitate to send an untrained thug to collect money from someone that could set them on fire by breathing on them." The boy frowned and held out his saucer to be refilled. "Now, the remaining debtors, while not shinobi, are equally untouchable to you and yours, being high ranking members of Hi no Kuni's various political circles. The longer you are unable to collect on these debts, the more money you and yours lose. I'm willing to buy these debts from you at...twenty percent of their value. More than you would get otherwise, I assure you."

Jun almost laughed. While this kid had walked in and murdered a number of his men, he was right in saying that they were little better than untrained thugs. He had no more chance of collecting debt from these debtors than Jun and his men did. "Kid, you can talk the talk, and you're rather terrifying, but this really isn't something you can do on your own."

The boy frowned. "Is that so." It wasn't a question. Wasn't a statement. Whatever it was, Jun felt himself growing tense. Tenser.

"Y-yeah."

The boy leaned forward, his scowl deepening, "My offer is now ten percent. For _all _the debts you presently have accounts for. Last offer."

Jun smiled nervously, "Sorry kid, gonna have to decline. Not allowed to make that kind of decision without talking it over with the boss first." The boy suddenly sat back, a smile on his face, and the pressure Jun had felt building on his chest vanished. Jun's smile grew less nervous, more cocky. This kid wasn't much of anything, a few words and he had backed down. The man's confidence began to swell once more.

Just as suddenly as he had leaned back, the boy kicked out at the table between himself and Jun, sending it rocketing into the older man's chest with enough force to knock him back and across the room. In a single fluid motion, he stood, flicking his hand in the direction of the girl that had been bringing them sake throughout their conversation.

As Jun struggled to rise, he saw her fall, a black blade sticking out from her throat, and a confused expression on her face as blood bubbled from the corners of her mouth. "You little shi-"

Naruto rammed his knee into Jun's face and tackled him to the ground, a blade to his throat.

"Ten percent."

Jun's eyes were locked on the girl's, and he grew pale as the light left her eyes and she gave one last shuddering breath. He looked at the boy that held him to the ground, a black knife pressed to his throat, "Ten percent sounds good."

The boy smiled, "Pleasure doing business Jun-dono."

* * *

Naruto emerged from the darkened hallways of Jun's offices with an accounts ledger securely tucked away into the pocket of his newly acquired coat. With a spring in his step, he began to make his way down the decrepit streets of the Akasen district, fully intending to return to his small apartment and begin going over ledger he had bought and figuring out his next course of action.

Such things were not meant to be.

"N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto froze, and slowly turned his head. At the end of a shadowed alley, against all odds, there stood Hinata, being hassled by some delinquents even lower than Jun and his men. His first instinct was to ignore her, to leave her to the fate of her stupidity. But of course, he could not follow that course of action, for if he did, he would be unable to ask her the question that now sat at the forefront of his thoughts.

Naruto charged down the alley, springing up atop a dumpster and launching himself off the adjacent wall. One of his black blades found a sheath in the first thug's skull as Naruto rode the man's body to the ground, painting a red grin on the throat of his fellow. The third man whimpered weakly, his fellows having been slain in the span of a heartbeat.

Naruto's nose crinkled as the man wet himself. "Go. Or die. Your choice." The man chose wisely, bolting down the alley. No longer a concern, Naruto let him go before turning to Hinata.

The girl had been sprayed with blood from the sliced throat of the second man, and stared blankly at the empty air before her.

"Shit. Alright, come on Hinata-hime, let's get you out of here." He took her hand, and she followed him without question. A brisk walk through the (relatively) safer main streets found them in the market district, where Naruto ducked into a back alley, feeling that seeing the Hyuuga princess covered in blood would cause something of a stir.

With a sigh, he slumped against a wall, pulling the girl to sit next to him.

"Why were you there Hinata." He dropped the suffix. This wasn't the time for niceties or flattery. She had almost gotten herself mugged or worse. Right in front of where he had gone to conduct his less than legal business. "Did you follow me after class?"

The girl nodded silently, burying her face in her knees.

"Why? You had to know that going into the Akasen was dangerous, particularly for someone that doesn't know it."

Again she nodded, though she added a single word this time, "C-curious."

The blonde hummed thoughtfully, "About me?" He smiled internally, he could use this, he supposed.

She nodded.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know."

She was silent, and so he remained silent as well. She had just been part of something traumatizing. The least he could do was give her time to cope. _'Ino's crash course at work I suppose.'_

"D-did you...have to kill them?" Her voice quivered, hardly more than a whisper. The question caught Naruto off guard, and he rested his head on his own knees before tilting it to the side.

"No, I suppose not. I could have just scared them off, or roughed them up a little bit." He didn't like this line of questioning. Not a single bit.

"Then w-why did you?" She had turned to look at him, her pale eyes pleading, seeking an answer that spoke of some goodness. There wasn't one.

"Just two more I guess. They made seventeen. No, wait, eighteen. She made sixteen."

The girl looked at him, confused.

"I killed eighteen people today. One of which did nothing to me. She was in the wrong place with the wrong company, and I needed to prove a point." He flicked his fingers, and a black blade appeared, as if from thin air. He offered it to Hinata, who took it with trembling hands. "Its made of obsidian, all of my knives are. They can be brittle, but they're sharp. Almost impossibly so." Even as he said that, Hinata nicked her finger on the blade, drawing blood. "I'm telling you this because...I did a bad thing. I know this. She did nothing to me, and I killed her. I'm telling you how sharp these blades are...because...she felt nothing. A little pinch, and then she was confused...and then she fell asleep."

The girl frowned, distracted by the cut on her finger, "If...if you knew it was bad, why did you do it?"

Naruto snatched his blade from Hinata's hands and returned it to whatever secret place it had been before, "Because I have a dream."

"To k-kill random people?" It was almost a joke, save that there was no mirth in her trembling voice. Absent the knife to toy with, she allowed herself to focus on the boy that sat beside her, noticing for the first time the tears that flowed freely from beneath the cloth around his eyes.

"No. If it could be done, I wouldn't kill anybody. I want peace Hinata. But to have peace..." The boy struggled for a moment, his shoulders shaking as he held in some terrible emotion that Hinata could only guess at, "To have peace, I have to destroy everything that there is right now. I have to tear down the barriers, the obstacles...everything in my path. When the path is before me, there is only one course of action, and that is to move forward. My feelings, my guilt, my _anything_, is purely secondary. One day, I will unite all the countries, all the villages. There will be peace...but the road there is one paved by blood and blade and fire." Naruto waited in silence, waited for her to tell him he was crazy, or foolish, or arrogant.

She did not.

"Okay."

"Okay? Okay what?"

"I'll help."

Naruto's eye's would have burst from their sockets had they not been wrapped, "W-what?!"

Hinata smiled, "I'll h-help. Your dream...it's a good dream. Peace for everyone...I'll...I'll help you down that path."

Naruto was dumbfounded, and speechless.

Hinata pressed her fingers together in a gesture Naruto immediately found endearing, "I'll...I'll be...your conscience. I'll...do my best...to keep you from killing anyone that doesn't d-deserve it."

Naruto simply stared at her from behind his covered eyes, a blank expression on his face.

"Hinata-hime, is the sun down?"

The girl was taken aback, she had said something that she wasn't entirely sure what the full implications of which would be, and he was asking about the sun? She looked up anyways, "No, soon though."

He nodded. "Stay with me until sundown, I have something to show you." With a grunt, the boy pulled himself up off the ground and offered Hinata his hand. As she took it, she noticed the new addition to his clothing. A charcoal black coat adorned with flames as vibrantly orange as his sash. The boy wore it draped over his shoulders, heedless of the fact that its overlarge size failed to give the look he was likely going for.

"O-oh my."

Naruto tilted his head before realizing what she was talking about. "Do ya like it? I took it from the Yakuza."

The girl nodded, "It's...very nice? It's a little...big on you."

He briefly inspected the coat, turning around in place several times before laughing, "Yeah, I suppose it is." Regardless, he took her hand and began to walk. She was silent for a while, simply allowing herself to be led. She wondered about what she had just committed to. What dark paths Naruto would walk and if, despite her words, she would be able to follow him down those paths.

She found herself looking at the coat he had taken, the colors suited him fine, but the whole thing seemed silly. It was baggy and bulky and where on another person, it would fall to about their waist, his height made it fall almost to his knees.

She could do better than that, she was sure.

She looked at his hair, rather, the stubble that remained.

She looked at his clothes, at the bandages that wrapped his arms and hands.

She wondered, as she would many times in the future, how someone who acted like they had nothing to hide, revealed so little.

So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't notice they had stopped moving until she heard Naruto fumbling with his keys. Then she turned bright red. He had brought her to his home. Casting her eyes about, her blush fell as suddenly as it had appeared.

He lived here? This was hardly out of the Akasen, the apartment building looked abandoned, ready to be torn down. How could anyone live here?

Finally, with an exclamation of success, Naruto opened the door, though his exultation was short lived, as the door's rusty hinges got stuck.

The boy cursed, and lashed out with his leg. The door opened, surely, it also came to a rest as little more than a pile of kindling.

"Sorry about the state of the place, I moved in...uh...last night. After class. Broke in, technically." The blonde flashed a dazzling grin, "Of course, look at me, gonna take over the world. And I haven't even a proper house."

Hinata's smile was not dazzling, but she gave it anyways, eying the couch warily, as if at any second, it would spring up and eat her. Given some of the smells in the apartment, she wouldn't be entirely surprised if that actually happened.

She was so absorbed in looking at the squalor that her newest friend lived in that she didn't realize he had left the room until he had returned with a cracked ceramic cup full of water, looking at her expectantly.

Looking at her.

With his eyes.

With his striking, icy blue eyes.

She stood, frozen, trapped in the frozen depths of his eyes. The blackness of his slit pupils. Falling deeper, deeper, deeper...

No.

Not frozen.

_Burning_.

Such burning passion within those eyes that everything else seemed frozen by comparison.

And then he blinked, and the spell was broken. With a gasp, Hinata collapsed onto the couch, her heart pounding in her throat.

"W-what _was_ that?"

The blonde leaned forward, again offering the cup of water, which she gladly took. Again, she chanced a look at his eyes, only to find them half-lidded. A sliver of the burning blue all that was visible.

"Sorry about that. I had forgotten. That's part of the reason I keep them covered."

Her heart had finally slowed down and returned to its proper place in her chest. "Part of the r-reason?"

He nodded, his half-lidded eyes never leaving her face.

"What's...the other part?" She almost feared to ask.

He must have heard the trepidation in her voice, because he laughed, "Hinata-hime, I was raised in darkness. Bright light _hurts_. Nothing more sinister than that." He sat next to her, and stretched languidly, "I can see perfectly at night though. No color though, in the dark. Sometimes, to see the color is worth the pain. Like yesterday, I looked out over the village in the middle of the day. Gah, the pain was almost unbearable. But the beauty...worth it."

With a yawn, Naruto leaned against her, seemingly oblivious to her sudden tensing. "If...if you keep your eyes covered during the day...how do you get around?"

The blonde shrugged, "Smell mostly. You also get very good at _listening_ when you live in the dark for long enough. So I listen, and I smell, and when it's not too bright, I see. The world has so much to show you when you have more than your eyes to rely on. "

Again, they sat in silence. Hinata, tense and awkward. Naruto, calm and comfortable against her side, almost drifting off to sleep.

"What did you...want to show me N-Naruto-kun?"

The blonde simply let out a short laugh and shifted his body, allowing his head to fall into Hinata's lap. His eyes were closed, but he knew her face was a shade of red that was probably delightful. Still, she did not move, or protest his relocation.

"This. Me. My eyes. My home. You offered me your help. Your help in something that will be so incredibly difficult...it will change us. Change me. Change you. My dream will change everyone and everything it touches. You...didn't doubt me when I said it. You didn't call me stupid, crazy, arrogant, foolish. You just agreed. All I can give you is my trust. This is my trust. Thank you." His smile was not broad, or foolish, or excited. It was small, and content, and dazzling. His eyes remained closed, but the image stayed in her mind. Those brilliant blue eyes, so impossibly aflame with passion that they drained the warmth from everything around them.

A few moments later, a quiet snore escaped the blonde, who had fallen asleep on Hinata's lap. She smiled at him, at how quickly he shifted from the unyielding killer from the alley, to the child sleeping on her lap.

She considered getting up, her father was likely wondering where she was, but after looking around the wreck of an apartment, she decided against it.

She could be a few more hours late.

* * *

AN: _Alrighty then. I was actually going to make this chapter longer by a page or so, but myself and my betareader (Who has returned to the internet for the next few days, I'll try to capitalize on that) felt that where I ended it wrapped it up nicely._

_So there, a little bloodshed, and a little bit of heartwarming feels. _

_And no, this isn't a pairing. Jesus people, they're 12. _

_Anyways, thanks for the few of you that followed and faved, and the even fewer that reviewed. Even though I only got one actual review. You random guest reviewer. Two words? Really? FOR SHAME. Other guy, Sefrys, thank you. Your review made me happy. It gave me inner strength._

_P.S. Sefrys, the lion's natural habitat is the African Savanna, which is mostly grasslands. I'm aware of this. They're still called the King of the Jungle, for some reason. Blame old timey British poachers and game hunters. THEY DID IT, NOT ME!_


	3. Lies We Tell

AN:_ Bahahaha. I have returned. Far sooner than any of you thought eh? PREPARE FOR SPEED UPDATING. Sort of. _

_This chapter might seem...silly, or random. It is. But I needed to write it, or else some things later wouldn't make sense. They still might not. Whatever. Consider it filler, of a sort. Delicious filler. Like in a jelly doughnut. _

_NOW!_

_AWAAAAAAAY!_

* * *

**3**

**Lies We Tell**

* * *

Naruto had woken to an impossibly clean apartment and a note.

_I cleaned, hope you don't mind.  
I also took your jacket.  
Hope you don't mind.  
-Hinata_

Naruto did mind, in fact. Not the cleaning. But the jacket. It was a cool jacket. He thought so at least. His thoughts wandered, taking his attention with them.

"Naruto!"

The voice had been smooth a few words earlier, now it was shrill. It hurt his ears. The smell was still pleasant though. "Yes Ino-chan?"

"Weren't we going to continue your...etiquette lesson yesterday? You vanished right after class."

'_Not fast enough to keep Hinata-hime from following me. I do hope she doesn't destroy the jacket._' "Mm. Yes. I'm sorry Ino-chan. I was distracted. I had business in the Akasen."

The blonde girl blanched, her voice becoming shrill again. Naruto disliked it when she did that, "Why would you need to go _there?_"

Naruto imagined her fingers were seconds from crushing the desk. Feminine super strength? Maybe. "Like I said. Business. On my way home I ran into Hinata-hime. She helped me clean my apartment. It was something of a wreck actually. The help was welcome."

Ino's mouth opened and closed spasmodically. Naruto thought it made her look like a fish. The idea made him smile. The girl groaned in frustration and walked away, apparently deciding that she would swoon over the still battered Sasuke today. The boy was apparently missing teeth. Did teeth grow back? Perhaps with treatments from a medic nin. Hopefully not. Arrogant cock.

He didn't particularly care either way, really. He was still lamenting the loss of his jacket, and puzzling over the lateness of the girl that had taken it.

He almost leapt to his feet when her scent reached his nose, and her soft footsteps came down the hall, accompanied by the scent and sound of Iruka. The man opened the door, and Hinata gave him the briefest of bows before scurrying away to her seat next to the blonde.

"H-hello Naruto-kun."

The thought of his jacket had vanished from his mind the moment she got close enough.

His voice was low, almost a growl in his throat, "You smell like blood. Are you alright?"

"A-ah...yes. I f-fell on my way home. It's...nothing."

"_Liar._"

He looked away from her, and blocked her from his mind. He had given her his trust. Shown her his home. His eyes. His vulnerability. And she had the nerve to _lie_ to him?

He moved through the day like a machine. Executing the drills and movements the instructors ordered without feeling or flaw.

The time for sparring came. Naruto felt his fists beat against flesh. Felt his own body being struck. He retaliated, like he always had.

Unthinking, unfeeling, a blade blade fell into his hand with an idle flick of his wrist. His hand darted forward. The instructors were shouting. Words? Words had no meaning. None. But was was assigned to them. The blade touched flesh, tasted blood. A glancing wound. Naruto's opponent backed away, but it was too late, Naruto had committed to the action. This person had attacked him, injured him. Recompense would be taken.

The smell of brimstone and smoke filled his nostrils as her voice reached his ears.

"Naruto-kun! _**STOP**_!"

So he did. He froze, his arm outstretched, the obsidian dagger traded, at some point, for a longer blade. Hinata stood before him, her arms held out at her sides. The tip of the blade rested in the hollow of her neck, a thin trickle of blood flowing from the small wound it had made.

"Stop. Please."

"_Liar."_

She smiled, "Yes. I...I know. Please, just stop. He's not an enemy. P-please."

He relaxed.

And then the ANBU appeared.

* * *

"He's dangerous Hokage-sama. This is the second student he's tried to kill."

The Hokage looked at the blonde in question, who was currently shackled, with the hand of an ANBU on each shoulder.

"Mizuki, I have to disagree. Naruto-kun was clearly distressed. And he did stop before he hurt Tobio-kun."

Mizuki crossed his arms, "He violated the terms of the spar, for one. Second, if he hadn't stopped, he would have _killed_ the Hyuuga girl. Distressed or not, he's clearly unstable."

The Hokage continued to look at Naruto, the boy clearly uncomfortable with the restraint.

"You read his file Mizuki, he doesn't know any better."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, that had garnered a reaction from Naruto.

"Psychotic is still psychotic."

"Hiruzen, please, don't let them talk about me like I'm not here."

Both teachers turned to look at Naruto, and one of the ANBU let out a sharp gasp.

"Naruto! Show the Hokage more respect!"

"No."

Nobody really had a response to that.

"I lived in hell for ten years. I'll respect whoever the fuck I want to. Now don't talk about me like I'm not here. I know I did wrong. I lost it. I'm sorry. Old instincts took over. It won't happen again. Not unless I'm provoked." Naruto looked pointedly at Mizuki when he said that.

Mizuki scoffed, "He said that last time, or am I mistaken."

Naruto smiled, "That was a different situation, despite the similarities in end result. If I wanted Tobio-san dead, he would be dead. I simply overreacted due to my own distress. It will not happen again. Hinata-hime will ensure it."

Finally, the Hokage chose to speak, "And what do you mean by that?"

Naruto frowned and shifted awkwardly, lack of respect aside, the Hokage was powerful, and made him uncomfortable. "Hinata-hime has...volunteered herself to be my 'conscience,' seeing as I still lack proper...social graces. She has social graces in abundance. She's willing to share."

The old man nodded.

With a grunt, Naruto dropped the shackles from his wrists, stood up, and walked out of the room.

"How long was he free?"

The cat-masked ANBU stepped forward and cleared his throat, "Within five seconds of us putting the shackles on him. He's gotten better at picking locks."

The Hokage nodded, "But he stayed. He _is_ learning some restraint then. Good." The old shinobi turned to face Mizuki, a scowl on his face, "You had best watch your step Mizuki-kun. If Naruto feels you are a threat, he will act upon it. And if you are a threat, you will find yourself in the same situation as the previous village council. Am I clear?"

The teacher nodded swiftly.

"Good. Dismissed."

As one, the teachers and ANBU bowed, vanishing from the room in a blur.

The Hokage sighed, pulling his pipe out of the top drawer of his desk. "Naruto, you will be the death of me."

* * *

Naruto found Hinata sitting in front of the Academy, on a swing that looked positively lonely.

"Hinata-hime..." His voice was gruff, reluctant.

She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

The boy grunted and sat on the swing next to her. It wasn't a wide seat, but he was rather thin. "It's not a problem. I'm sorry, for what it's worth. I overreacted. Everyone has secrets. Even I know that. Keep yours until you want to share."

The girl nodded, her body sagging forward, as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Suddenly, she perked up, "Oh! Naruto-kun, I have something for you."

"Is it my jacket?" He perked up just as quickly as she had.

"No Naruto-kun, it's not your jacket. I'll give it back to you when I'm done with it, I p-promise." Instead, she held out a small package, which the boy took with some hesitation. Officially, it was his second gift. In his entire life. His first gift hurt. He hoped the second didn't follow that pattern.

Slowly, cautiously, he opened the package. He ran his fingers over what was inside, held it up to his face, sniffed it. He was at a loss. He sometimes wished he could use his eyes during the day.

"What is it?"

She laughed, "Goggles Naruto-kun. As dark as I could find them."

He regarded the goggles in his hands. A grin split his face and he quickly pulled the cloth away from his eyes, and just as quickly replaced it with the goggles. Little more than black lenses set in comfortable rubber with a rubberized elastic band, the light they allowed into his eyes was still excessive, but far more tolerable than it would have been otherwise.

Clearly, Hinata was a mind reader.

"Hinata-hime, you're amazing. Thank you." He smiled broadly at her, and was greeted by the _sight_ of her blushing face. It was just as fascinating and endearing as he imagined. Quickly, he swept her up in a bone crushing hug. Just as quickly, he let go and began to dash away, "I'll see you later yeah? I'm off to go extort some merchants!"

As he vanished down the street, Hinata sighed. Keeping him out of trouble seemed like it would be a full time job.

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey, apple guy. You owe me money."

Naruto perched atop the stall of an apple salesman, his inverted face following the portly man as he walked back and forth, tending his produce.

"I do not. I don't even know you."

Still upside down, Naruto nodded sagely, "Well yeah, you don't know me. But still. You _are_ Matsumaru-san, the apple salesman that ran up quite the debt at the Violet Petal in the Akasen right?"

The man froze, "A-are you with Jun?"

Naruto laughed, "That chump? Hah, please. I bought all the debts he held. What you owed him, you now owe me. Double."

The merchant bristled, obviously not intimidated by the scruffy blonde kid with goggles that refused to stand on the ground like an ordinary person. "I'll do no such thing."

Naruto shrugged, "Hey man, just letting you know. You've got a month, then I'm burning your house down. See ya."

Naruto vanished back over the top of the man's stall, leaving him speechless, and very much confused.

* * *

"Hey. You Yatsume-san?"

"Do I owe you money?"

"Uhhh...Yeah."

"Then no."

Naruto frowned, "Doesn't work like that."

The man frowned in return, "I don't care how it works, brat. You can tell Jun to shove his debt collectors up his ass. His debt collector being you. Go climb up your boss's ass."

Naruto blinked behind his goggles. "I like you. Anyways. No, I don't work for Jun. I bought all debts owed to him. You're a weaponsmith right?"

The man looked up at the sign that hung above his door, "Yeah, that's what it says, doesn't it."

"Good. You any good working with obsidian?"

The man crossed his arms in front of him, "Who's asking?"

Naruto tilted his head, "Uh, I'm asking. I thought that was clear."

"Tch, yeah, I know how."

Naruto pumped his fist into the air, "I can supply you with obisidian, you make me whatever weapons I need, whenever I need them, and we call your debt square. Sound good?"

The man looked at Naruto, his eyes narrow. "Yeah. Sure. Sounds good."

"Wonderful!" Naruto turned to leave, looked over his shoulder at the weaponsmith, "By the way, your daughter heard our conversation. She now knows you have a weakness for gambling and prostitutes in Akasen. Have fun dealing with that."

The man paled as the blonde all but danced out of his shop.

* * *

Naruto was in an amazing mood at the moment. The events of earlier buried under a pile of collected debts and delivered threats. So when his knock on a door went unanswered, he decided to move on, and come back later. He had an entire village to extort, one person could wait.

When he was lifted up by the scruff of his neck, and a silky voice whispered in his ear, his good mood was spoiled somewhat, though not by much.

"What'dya want with _my_ door, brat?"

The blonde smiled as he was slowly turned around to face his assailant, "Anko Mitarashi I assume? You owe me money."

She dropped him as if he had a disease. Or was on fire. Diseased and on fire. And vomiting. All at once. "That so?"

She stressed the 's' in her words, almost imperceptibly. But it was there. "Tis, regrettably. According to..." Naruto pulled out his ledger, a small book bound in red leather, "This, you slept with Jun for... damn, a _year_, so he would keep lending you money he didn't have. I bought all the debts owed to him, yours included. Really though, you have one of the highest debts in this book, and you spent it all on _dango_? I like the things as much as the next guy, but shit, really?"

The woman leaned forward, showing her cleavage and doing her level best to put up a seductive front. On anyone else, it would have worked.

"Look, lady, I'm not Jun. Flashing your tits isn't gonna work on me. You owe me money, end of story. Either you pay me back, double the amount you owed him, pay me back in a similarly valued service, or I burn your house down and shave your head. Your choice."

She just looked at him. "Shave my head. Really?"

The blonde shrugged, tucking the ledger back into his pocket, "Yeah. Everyone else is getting a 'burn your house down' threat, but the women and feminine guys are getting a 'shaved head' threat too. You're lucky too, where I'm from, debts are usually collected with rape and stabbings."

Anko looked at the child before her, trying to understand how he could talk of such things with such flippancy. Then it clicked. "Naruto Uzumaki. You're the kid from the place. With the people. That did things."

He nodded solemnly, "Yes. The place with the people. They did things."

.

.

.

Five minutes later found Naruto and Anko seated at her kitchen table, stacks of paper spread out in front of them, Anko had produced a pair of reading glasses from somewhere, and was currently going over a contract of sorts.

"Alright, I'll help you collect the debts in your ledger, for a fifteen percent cut on every debt I bring in." She looked at Naruto, who was fiddling with a kunai she had left stabbed into the table.

"Sounds good."

"Furthermore, any debts relating to dango or establishments that serve dango are my responsibility, and I'm allowed to handle them as I see fit."

Again, the blonde nodded in affirmative, "Remember though, _extort_, not _ruin_."

The woman nodded, "Debts that can be used to influence manufacturing and trade companies should be utilized as such, to turn a profit that will be both beneficial for us _and_ the companies in question."

"Let's bring _some_ legitimacy to this thing, yes?"

Finally, the woman produced a pen and signed her name, before turning the paper over to Naruto, who nodded before scrawling his own name on the paper.

Their business done, Anko almost squealed in excitement, "This is gonna make us so much money!"

Anko, being Anko, celebrated this by throwing a knife at Naruto's head.

He retaliated in kind.

"You try to kill all your business partners?" Naruto wiped the blood away from the slim cut on his cheek, grinning as he felt the skin knit back together.

Anko matched his grin, her face marred by a similar cut, though hers wasn't healing. "Only the ones that've done time yanno?"

Naruto shrugged, "I really can't fault that logic." Naruto's broad smile fell, and Anko could have sworn his goggles flashed blue, for an instant. "Though, if you come at me with intent, things will get...messy."

She looked at him, her hand inching towards her kunai. His hand likewise twitched, longing to drop a obsidian blade into his palm. Anko's grin grew, "Shit, if only you were older."

The blonde relaxed and rubbed the back of his head, "Fifteen."

The woman tilted her head, "Eh?"

"You can have your night, when I'm fifteen."

"Ehhhh?"

The boy was smug, "You heard me. See ya, Anko-chan."

And then he jumped out the window, leaving broken glass all over her front steps.

She leaned out her broken window and smiled, "Bastard."

* * *

When Hinata finally caught up to him, Naruto was fending off an old woman who was twenty years behind on her debts. She had apparently escaped payment for so long with her deadly skill with a cane.

She Hyuuga breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Naruto was not responding to the attack with deadly force, and was in fact either dodging the strikes, or accepting them with cheerful indifference.

His mood had greatly improved from earlier, and she liked to think it was the goggles she had given him. Being able to see was a wonderful thing.

Then she caught something. Ever so slight.

Naruto pivoted, on his left foot, digging his heel deep into the ground.

A spur of stone jutted up in the path of the old woman's foot, and she stumbled.

Like a proper gentleman, Naruto caught her, and helped her right herself.

The bandages around his foot were tattered, more than they were before.

What was that?

Hinata frowned, but a smile quickly replaced it as Naruto noticed her and frantically gestured her to come over.

"Hinata-hime, this is Obaasan." He gestured to the old woman, who fumed at the nickname. "Obaasan, this is Hinata-hime. She can attest that I'm a perfectly reputable and honorable sort, and that I bought your debt from the Yakuza to keep them from hassling you any further." The blonde smiled. The smile of a snake oil salesman, and the old woman knew that. She cast her eyes at Hinata.

"You Hyuuga?"

The girl nodded.

"He on the level?"

The girl hesitated, but nodded nonetheless.

The old woman grumbled, but fished around in her purse for something, finally pulling out the single largest wad of money Hinata had ever seen.

"There, all I've got. Now bugger off and leave me to my cats."

Naruto knew that this wasn't all she had, but it was his biggest payment of the day.

And he hadn't had to threaten to shave her head.

Naruto spun around, and Hinta staggered forward, suddenly off balance. The blonde caught her in a hug, "Ahhhh, Hinata-chan, today has been wonderful. Got a business partner, and you've got such an honest face and such a respected family!" He was indecently pleased with himself. Having just extorted a woman out of a large chunk of her life savings, and having used the Hyuuga's good name to do so.

Hinata was only slightly offended at that. Mostly she thought it was interesting, seeing Naruto so exited. It was almost infectious. Almost.

She smiled weakly, "M-maybe you should...call it a day Naruto-kun?"

The blonde frowned, "But there's money to be made Hinata-hime! Money!" His laughter was almost a cackle. It made the girl somewhat uneasy.

"No...no. Don't...don't do that. You're s-scaring children."

Naruto looked at the group of children that stood opposite the street from him. A broad smile on his face, he pulled a handful of money from the wad the old woman had given him, and tossed it on the street. The children scrambled for it, before running off down the street.

The excitement from seconds earlier was gone, "A little kindness, y'know? Goes a long way. Come on Hinata-hime. Lunch. Or dinner. I like the goggles, but I can't tell what time of day it is. I'm a moron, right? Anyways. Ramen awaits!"

* * *

Hinata picked at the ramen in front of her, contemplating the turn her life had suddenly taken. She had found herself (voluntarily, she reminded herself) into role of conscience and accomplice to a boy whose idea of problem solving was a knife in the throat, and that was if blackmail and extortion failed.

To say nothing of his sudden and terrifying moments of pure rage and murderous intent.

Or how callously he _could_ take a life.

Or how remorseful he could seem after doing so.

Hinata sighed, and not for the last time.

She considered telling him.

About what had happened. Why she was late. Why she smelled like blood.

He probably would have exterminated her clan.

Or laughed at her for being weak.

She wasn't sure which would be worse.

She frowned. She had heard his little rant about predators and prey.

He was a cunning (and psychotic) fox. A predator, albeit not a terrible _strong_ one.

What was she?

Oh, he was talking again. About his business partner.

Hinata found that he didn't like it when he talked about her.

She couldn't fathom why.

Honestly.

_Really._

And then there was that, _thing_, with the old woman. That twist of the foot. What was that?

She sighed, _again._

He enthralled her, fascinated her, enchanted her. She couldn't fathom why, or manage to stop.

Not that she wanted to. As much as he confused her, she'd figure him out.

Eventually. Maybe. Probably not.

She sighed. '_Crap_.'

* * *

AN:_ There ya have it. It basically amounts to a filler chapter, I guess. Or not. I suppose that depends on how you take it. I wrote this over what, the course of three hours? Blah. Don't even give a fuck. _

_Next chapter, Naruto graduates, and gets a team. And a sensei. Obviously. Maybe. Shit, I dunno. I think I'm hallucinating. Fuck yeah._

_Geeze, I wonder who's gonna be on his team. _

_It's a fucking MYSTERY!_

_OOOOOoooOOOOooOOooOOOOoooOoo OOOoooooO!_

_Review, you faceless internet people. I need reviews. They're like crack. GIMME MY FIX (WO)MEN!_


	4. Bait and Switch

AN:_ Ack. I got slow. I meant to post this the day before yesterday, but I just didn't get around to writing it. Other things got in the way. Like flipping a rental house, cause heaven forbid my grandpa spends any money to hire someone to sand down the hardwood, and then refinish it. Or to paint the walls. Or fix the plumbing. Or any number of things that proper professional people do for a living. Not his twentysomething grandson that lives a thousand fucking miles (seven hundred something actually, semantics) away from him. Bleh. I'm ranting. Apologies._

_ANYWAYS, ONWARDS, TO CHAPTER 4_

* * *

**4**

**Bait and Switch**

* * *

As per the usual, Naruto dozed on his desk, happily snoring away as Hinata took notes on the lesson for him. She was certainly taking her self-appointed position as his conscience seriously, and not just in matters regarding his tendency to stab first and sort out the details later. Beyond that, she also seemed heavily invested in _preparing _him for whatever trials he might face in the future.

His physical strength and natural instinct aside, Naruto was largely untrained in the ninja arts. His chakra control was sub par, his ninjutsu repertoire was nonexistent, and he couldn't perform the basic academy arts to save his life. Which it probably would, at some point. So she took it upon herself to show him (though Ino helped, something neither girls were particularly pleased about) the proverbial ropes.

He absorbed the information like a sponge, but his chakra control was still lacking despite the exercises Hinata had shown him. Between the three of them, they couldn't fathom why the boy was unable to perform one of the single most simple basic technique. Bushin.

Then Anko appeared with a stack of cash, pressed it into Naruto's hands, and suggested that maybe he had too much chakra to be able to focus it down into a crappy illusory clone.

Hinata had activated her Byakugan, and found herself nearly blinded by the intensity and quantity of chakra that Naruto had. They quickly decided that a basic Bushin wasn't going to be enough for Naruto. He needed something more...real.

Which led to Hinata poking Naruto in the head with her pencil, and then using the offending implement to point at Iruka as he made his way out of the classroom for his lunch.

Naruto groaned and followed him.

"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei?" The blonde was actually somewhat nervous.

The scarred chunin turned, "Yes? Do you need help with something? I noticed that Hinata and Ino have been helping you catch up. I'm glad you've made friends." His smile was beaming, and somehow seemed bright even through the dark lenses of Naruto's goggles.

"Uh...yeah. About that, we figured something out." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He wondered why Hinata or Ino couldn't ask instead. "I've literally got too much chakra to do a regular Bushin. No matter how much I refine my control, I'm not gonna be able to do it. Are there any alternatives that could get me through the exam?"

Iruka frowned and scratched his chin. "Well, yes. There are numerous sorts of clones. Elemental clones are the most common, but there are also Kage Bushin, shadow clones, that are used more often in Konoha. Still, I couldn't teach any of them to you. I don't know any elemental clone techniques, and Kage Bushin is a kinjutsu, so I'd be forbidden to teach it to you. I'm sorry. Just keep working on your control, I'm sure you'll be able to manage a decent Bushin by the time the exam comes around."

As Iruka walked away, a disappointed Naruto was forced to remember what Hinata said the last time he punched a wall in frustration. "Breath. Count to ten. Breath. Property damage is bad."

His frustration management was shattered as a hand came to rest on his shoulder, prompting him to panic, drop a blade into his palm, and slam his 'attacker' into the wall.

It was Mizuki.

Naruto scowled. His least favorite person.

"Don't...don't sneak up on me."

Mizuki simply smirked, as if this confirmed all the things he had said to the Hokage after the sparring incident. Then his smirk vanished, and was replaced by a genial smile, "I couldn't help but overhear what you told Iruka. Or what his response was."

Naruto fought back the urge to cut the man's throat. That would be counterproductive. "Yeah? What about it?"

Mizuki shrugged, "Well, there's another test you could take. It would let you completely bypass the traditional exam. Bushins and all."

Naruto relaxed, sliding his blade back into its secret place. "Go on."

* * *

Naruto realized he shouldn't have trusted Mizuki. Should have recognized the con for what it was. But the opportunity...

"Tch. Steal the Scroll of Seals he said, y'know. It'll be easy he said. Nobody will care he said, y'know. The ANBU won't chase you he said, _y'know_." As an ANBU dropped in front of Naruto, the blonde resolved to kill the treacherous teacher, the next time he saw him.

And he would see him again.

"Outta my way!" Naruto rushed ahead, pivoting to his right as the ANBU, against all preconceptions of the elite shinobi, slipped in a puddle of water, giving the blonde enough time to dodge around him and continue on his flight.

With a groan, the blonde angled his escape towards the Akasen. Those that lived their had a healthy distrust for authority, and any ANBU asking for him would be met with noncompliance. Particularly when told they were looking for him because he has stolen something.

Honor among thieves or something.

Another ANBU appeared, somewhere behind him. Naruto looked back with a grin when he saw the man obstructed by beggars. He turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand. He needed to find someplace secluded, partly to escape the ANBU, and partly to find out what the hell was so important about this scroll. And if it was worth his time, copy it.

He found such a place in the back room of a brothel that he had recently...acquired. Feeling satisfied that he was relatively secure in the brothel (who would expect a twelve year old to hide in a brothel, least of all one that they _owned_), he opened the scroll.

And decided that it was worth his time.

_Remember the fundamentals 'Ruto. If the foundation is strong, what you build on top of it will be just as strong._

Going into the office of the brothel, Naruto opened the curtains just a crack, allowing a beam of moonlight to stream into the room. From the top drawer of the desk, he produced a small calligraphy brush and ink well.

_It's the Art of_ Description_, 'Ruto. You describe your intent. What you're going to alter. You gain power over it. _

The sheet of paper in front of him was being slowly, painstakingly marked with spidery lines of ink, gradually filling up, save for an empty space in the middle.

_It can be as simple as the character for 'Fire.' You write that, and you can do any number of things. Produce flame. Extinguish it. Trap it. Engorge it._

The paper sufficiently marked, Naruto turned his attention to his right hand. It would be the activator.

_But the more esoteric arrays aren't nearly as simple. I've seen some that were almost like drawings drawings. Abstract and confusing, describing a concept. And they could bend the fabric of the world around them. _

His palm was marked. The back of his hand would receive a similar treatment.

_Fuinjutsu is a misnomer, as far as I'm concerned 'Ruto. I mean, look at that thing on your belly. It's a bunch of squiggly lines. It's more the concept of the thing, the meaning it held when it was made. That's the importance. If you keep the purpose strong in your mind when you draw your arrays, they'll know what they're for._

Naruto smiled as his work was finished. While the practice of Fuinjutsu wasn't quite as simple as Jin would have had him believe, the concept was sound. It helped that Naruto took to the art like a fish took to water. An instinctive ability to know how an array should be drawn was more vital to Fuinjutsu than years of training, or so Jin said.

Gingerly, Naruto wrapped the sheet of paper around the Scroll of Seals before fitting his marked hand into the portion he had left empty, "_Uzumaki__ no Fūin Shiki: Suiboku o Taberu."*_

The array lit up, the light stabbing into Naruto's sensitive eyes like blades of heated glass, but he endured. He had to watch, and ensure that the transfer was successful. Gradually, the light grew in intensity, until he couldn't bear it any longer. He turned his head away and shut his eyes.

When the light faded, and he looked back, both his hand and the sheet of paper were blank.

"Success!"

"Stop right there!"

Naruto looked out the window, and found an ANBU had wrenched it open, likely attracted by the light show his array had created. The blonde snatched up the scroll of seals and leapt out the opposite window. He hit the ground running, the anguished cry of the ANBU behind him as an explosive tag went off. Something about 'criminal scum.'

It didn't matter, Naruto had done what he wanted to do. Now he had to meet up with Mizuki.

And stab the man in his throat.

* * *

Mizuki sat in wait, concealed among the trees where he had arranged to meet Naruto. While he was ecstatic that the blonde had been stupid enough to actually do what he wanted, he was incredibly frustrated that the stupid brat was _late_.

Even as he thought these things, the boy in question entered the clearing below. Mizuki was silent, watching the boy as he took off his goggles and sat down to read the scroll. Mizuki smirked, marveling at the stupidity of the child. He was nothing more than a bloodthirsty convict, how in the world did he imagine he could learn anything from the Scroll of Seals, which contained some of Konoha's most powerful and mysterious kinjutsu?

He was ready to leap down and collect his prize when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

And turned to look into the brilliant blue eyes of the boy that was sitting in the clearing below him.

Mizuki was trapped.

Unable to move.

Unable to feel anything but a bone deep chill that sapped his strength and made him feel like he was dying.

"You...made a poor move, Mizuki-sensei. I knew you were a lying sneak, but to set your own cute little student up to be taken down by the ANBU? That's low."

Mizuki was terrified. Those unflinching blue orbs, like frozen flame.

Eating away at his mind, at the world around him, the colors of the world bleeding out.

Going dark.

Disappearing.

But those eyes.

In the darkness, the boy's voice returned, "You're lucky. Not many have seen me like this. I guard my eyes well." The eyelids fell, ever so slightly, and Mizuki felt a slight surge of warmth.

His tongue felt frozen, "Do-dojutsu?"

The eyes narrowed, and icy fingers dug into Mizuki's heart. "Of a sort, I suppose. Nothing genetic, I'm assured. My children will not inherit it, as far as I know. Hayate-nii says that it has something to do with my tenant. Izero-ji thinks its possible for it to be transplanted, but he's not sure."

The eyes shifted, and the icy grip on Mizuki's heart was released. "T-tenant?"

"Mm. Yeah. I'm a jinchuuriki y'know. Far as we can tell, I've got the fox. Anyways. We've chatted long enough I think." The eyes closed completely, and the world rushed back.

Mizuki reached for the large shuriken on his back, and agony exploded in his arms.

"W-what?"

The blonde smiled and allowed his eyes to open to slits. "Did you think I was just talking?"

Mizuki looked down at his arms.

"Obsidian. Incredibly sharp. Mostly, its so sharp that you don't feel the cut. You, of course, don't deserve that luxury." The blonde flipped a chip of obsidian between his fingers, heedless of the blood that fell from his own fingers as the blade cut them. His hand twitched, and the chip dug into Mizuki's cheek, below his eye. The black glass ground against his cheekbone, sending molten agony shooting through his face.

Naruto raised his leg and kicked the treacherous teacher in the chest, sending him tumbling down to the clearing.

The shadow clone on the ground below looked at the wounded man, smiled, and dispelled itself, its job complete.

Naruto dropped to the ground next to Mizuki, a broad smile on his face. "Mizuki-sensei. You tried," The blonde drove a blade into the fleshy part of Mizuki's left leg. "To _fuck me!_" The blonde kicked the teacher in the side, eliciting a pained cry from the man. "And, given where I was raised, where you _know_ I was raised," The blonde produced a longer blade and drove it into the man's shoulder. It shattered against the bone. "Trying to _fuck me_, is a very bad idea. Y'know?" Another long blade shattered against Mizuki's opposite shoulder. "Now, normally, I'd just kill you. Cut your throat, stab you in the eye. Cut your balls off and stuff them down your throat. Simple. Clean, y'know?" The blonde knelt down and produced a handful of fine black blades, more similar to needles than knives. He began to casually stab them into Mizuki's torso. "But, if I kill you, you won't be able to tell the interrogators about how you set me up." The blonde frowned, "I admire them, a bit. They get so inventive. What I'm doing know, how much pain I'm causing you? I'm a child banging rocks together. Still, I do enjoy myself." He brought Mizuki's face close to his own. "And there's no one here but us. No Iruka to scold me. No Hiruzen to give me that disapproving look. No Ino to be disgusted. No Hinata, to try and make me a better person. Just you and me. It's always interesting, to find out who you are in the dark. Though, I was raised in the dark. And it's what I know. What made me. So...y'know."

Naruto frowned, "That got away from me, but you know what I mean."

With a grunt, Naruto heaved the teacher off the ground and flung him into a tree, "Still, while I've got you, _I'mma fuck you up!_"

* * *

When Iruka finally found Naruto, nearly an hour later, he found him sitting calmly, the beaten and bloody body of Mizuki in a sort of heap next to him. The boy had his goggles around his neck, and was casually perusing the Scroll of Seals. Iruka stood for a moment, his mouth agape.

The boy looked up, and Iruka noticed his eyes. Blue.

"Oh, hello Iruka-sensei. Before you flip out and try to kill me, you should know that Mizuki set me up to steal the scroll. Said it was an alternate test or something, cause I was having so much trouble with bushin." He rubbed his head, "Hindsight is twenty-twenty, y'know? Still I won't have trouble on the bushin part of the exam now."

Iruka was still standing in dumbfounded silence as another Naruto walked up from behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Shadow clones. Learned it on my own, from the scroll. Now ya won't get in trouble for teaching it to me."

The scarred teacher swallowed, hard, "That's very thoughtful of you."

"Hinata is rubbing off on me, or something. Maybe it's Ino. I doubt it. She's needy."

Iruka sighed as he flared his chakra.

Naruto frowned.

"I'm about to be arrested again, huh?"

"Yes."

"That sucks, y'know? Think they can just uh, not shackle me this time. My hands are pretty torn up."

The Naruto standing next to Iruka held his hands up, and Iruka noted the cuts and gashes that covered them, some of which were so deep that bone could be seen. He looked at the blades that had been stabbed into Mizuki's body, and back to Naruto's hands. He paled. Not a single of the razor sharp obsidian blades had any sort of wrapping or hilt.

As he looked back at the boy's hands, he noticed that many of the smaller cuts had already healed.

The clone jumped up from its seat next to Mizuki and walked to the real Naruto, reaching out with with its uninjured hands and pulling up his goggles. Naruto grinned, "Can't be looking at people the wrong way, y'know."

The same cat masked ANBU from the sparring incident appeared, shackles in hand. Naruto frowned and looked at Iruka. The teacher sighed and shook his head. The ANBU nodded and collected Mizuki, wood sprouting from his arm and wrapping around the battered man.

Naruto simply looked at the man, "Tenzo, I've known you for...three years. That's the first time you've done that. What the hell? I thought we were cool."

The ANBU simply looked at Naruto and shrugged, "Never had to use it on you."

"Ah. I see."

The silence that followed was as awkward as it was long.

* * *

"Did you really kill Mizuki-sensei?"

Naruto looked at the dark haired boy in front of him, who despite his question had a vaguely bored expression on his face.

Naruto was aghast at the accusation, or at least looked aghast. "What? Kill him? No no. Maimed him though. Crippled? Probably."

"Why?"

A shrug, "He lied to me. Set me up to fall."

"That what you're gonna do to everyone who lies to you? Seems pretty...troublesome."

Naruto shrugged as he was called into the testing room.

Iruka look at him as he walked in.

Naruto looked at Iruka.

Iruka looked back.

Naruto had successfully mastered the clone technique in the course of a night, and defeated a chunin level ninja.

The older man sighed. "You pass."

Naruto nodded, turned on his heel, and walked out.

* * *

The next day, Naruto sat in his usual spot at the back of the class, listening to Iruka announcing the team rosters.

He was mildly bored, as he knew what teammates he would get. Either Hinata or Ino, more likely Hinata, as the Ino-Shika-Cho team was something of a fixture in the generations since the clans had begun cooperating.

"Team Five, under jonin sensei Genma Shiranui, is Ami Ōheina, Tobio Somatsu, and Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto sat bolt upright.

"What."

He stood, knocking his chair over in the process.

"_What?_"

Iruka looked at the blonde, the barest hint of a smile on his face.

"_**WHAT?"**_

* * *

AN: _Ahaha. Wow, I'm an asshole, aye? Building up to Naruto being on what is it, Team 8? Nah, fuck that. Too overdone. Meet Team 5._

_Ami Ōheina and Tobio Somatsu. These are not, actually, OCs. Ami was a bully that made fun of a young Sakura, leading to her friendship with Ino. Tobio, oooooohhhhhh Tobio. Tobio is the guy that bumped into Naruto. Leading to him kissing Sasuke._

_Also, Tobio is the guy that _**didn't**_ get killed when Naruto lost his shit during the sparring session last chapter._

_Small world, eh?_

_The last parts of this chapter feel somewhat rushed to me. If you feel the same, I apologize. There wasn't much I could do to pad it or make it more interesting, I hope that ending makes up for it somewhat. If you disagree, then thanks, that makes me feel better._

_Anyways, y'know the drill. Please, review, comment, critique. Please. I've only gotten three reviews from people with names. Your reviews will give me motivation to keep writing, and to update in a timely manner. So c'mon. Do your part, donate a couple seconds of you time to write a better review than the anonymous guest reviewers and their "is gid stirry man. Plz updt." _

_Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and keep enjoying. If we're lucky, I'll update again later today, or tomorrow._

_Ciao._

_P.S. Also, I'm not gonna accept any guest reviews shorter than seven properly spelled words. Even you guys should put a LITTLE bit of effort into your reviews. C'mon guys._


	5. Making 'Friends'

AN:_ Just to clarify, Ami and Tobio's family names aren't canon. They lacked them, and I gave them some, for reasons. _

_And, I realize I forgot to translate the technique Naruto used in the last chapter. It is __**Uzumaki Sealing Style: Eating Ink**__. And it copied the Scroll of Seals. No, you can't know how it copied it. G'wey, you'll find out later. Impatient jerks, jeez. _

_This is probably going to be a short chapter. A little rushed. But it's to get to the better, meatier parts of the story. Still, apologies._

* * *

**5**

**Making 'Friends'**

* * *

Naruto felt Hinata's hand on his arm, and her gentle words calmed the fire in his chest.

"Naruto-kun...p-please, sit down. It's fine."

The boy gave a guttural growl in response, but calmed greatly. He remained standing though.

The teacher nodded, and finished announcing the teams.

When it was done, Hinata gave him a gentle smile, promising to meet him later, and departed with her new team. Ino did likewise, and Naruto found himself alone in the room with five others. Team Seven, under Kakashi Hakate, and his own _teammates_.

They sat, in awkward silence, for nearly an hour.

The door slid open at a sedate pace, and a man with brown hair under a bandana, and a senbon in his mouth, walked in. The man was the very image of relaxation.

"Here for team...uh" He looked at his hand, "Five."

Naruto's teammates stood and walked down to their new sensei.

With a groan, Naruto followed.

The jonin walked slowly, the senbon in his mouth swishing back and forth.

After several minutes of this, the man stopped and slowly began to look around.

"Let's get some barbeque kids. My treat. It's not everyday you get your first genin team."

Eventually, the man had meandered to a barbeque restaurant, where Naruto spotted Ino sitting with her team, on the opposite end of the restaurant, with her back to him. She was busy, as was he. He didn't call out. The sensei of both teams waved at each other before returning their attention to their genin.

As they sat down, their sensei ordered something for all of them. Naruto assumed it was something good, from the smells that wafted through the resturaunt.

The jonin leaned back, taking his senbon out of his mouth and tucking it behind his ear. "It's very nice to meet you all. I'm Genma, Genma Shiranui. And before you introduce yourselves, I'd like to try to...sound you out first. Sound good?"

Vague sounds of agreement were given in response. Their sensei seemed impossibly laid back, it made them feel noncommittal (Tobio was always vaguely noncommittal).

The man laced his fingers and laid his chin on his hands. He looked at Tobio, who had taken the seat closest to the walkway. "Tobio Somatsu. Your standing in the class is average. You did just enough to skid by. Exactly enough. That alone made you stand out. Nobody is _that_ average without trying. You're exceptional with a blade, but only short blades. Something of a knife nut, from what I heard from Iruka-san." The boy was silent, "You look remarkably _like_ Iruka-san, by the way. Did you know that?"

The boy in question cracked a smile, "I'm obviously part of a fiendish plot to replace him with a clone. Or I'm a distant relative that looks exactly like him. That one's boring though. So clone."

Genma smiled, "Alright then. Iruka's clone. You're also something of a joker, and proud of that. Otherwise, you don't particularly like to stand out. You like to just _be_. A very philosophical mindset, if I might say so." The man nodded, "We'll get along fine, I think."

He turned his attention to Ami, who had chosen to sit in the middle, between her male teammates. "Ami Ōheina." Genma frowned, "You're also average. Not like Tobi-kun though. But in a similar way. You have exceptional potential for a first generation kunoichi, but you squander it. If you tried, you could be an exceptional kunoichi, but you don't _want_ to try. You're fine with being average, because being a kunoichi is almost like a hobby to you. You aren't doing it to make a living, because your father is wealthy. You aren't doing it to help people, you aren't that altruistic. You aren't even doing it because of a boy, because Naruto-kun here broke your fascination with Uchiha-san, unless your fascination has transferred over to Naruto-kun, which I doubt. So, why are you here?"

Ami looked at the teacher, her brown eyes narrow and her brow furrowed. "To finish."

"Hm?"

"Papa says that when you start something, you finish it. I'm going to finish this, one way or another."

Genma smiled gently, "There's no finishing this Ami-chan. We're shinobi, we will be shinobi until we're too injured to continue, or we die. If you plan to 'finish' this, then you're going to be at it till you die. Do you accept that?"

The girl bit her lip, but nodded. Genma smiled, it was as good a reason as any. Though they needed to work on getting her to _try_.

Finally, Genma turned to Naruto. He looked at him for a good long while. His smile grew sad. "Naruto Uzumaki...you're also in the middle of the class, though that was mostly because of time constraints. If you had been a part of the class since the beginning, you likely would have been in the top five. You've suffered through somethings that nobody your age, or any age, should suffer. You're remarkably strong because of that. You have...a dream. A powerful dream, and the will to achieve it." He smiled, more happily now, "More importantly, you have the _patience_ to work towards that dream, your personal tendencies and behaviors aside. You've made a good friend in someone that can better you, somehow. You trust me enough, knowing nothing about me, to assume that I'll watch the entrances to your back, while you watch the entrances to my back. You positioned yourself to quickly escape out the window. You're cautious. You're also angry. So very angry that it burns you up inside and risks turning everything else you might feel into ashes and _more_ anger. Let's work on that, alright?"

Naruto looked at him, something resembling dull surprise on his face. He nodded.

Genma clapped as the food arrived, "Great! Now let's dig in. I'm gonna put you through your paces when we get to the training ground, so you're gonna need the energy."

* * *

Naruto cursed as blackened bark peeled away beneath his fingers, almost sending him tumbling down to the ground far below.

Above him was Tobio, his eyes squeezed shut tightly, muttering something about a 'happy place.'

Ami was below him, clinging to the massive tree and trembling like a leaf about to be torn off by the wind.

This was Training Ground Thirty-Two, Genma's preferred training ground, for several reasons.

One, it was isolated. An island in the middle of a large lake, dominated by a single titanic tree, connected to land by a narrow wooden bridge that stood no more than a few inches above the water.

This was good for training, Genma's techniques were destructive, the isolated location of the training ground allowed him to practice with little thought to collateral damage.

Two, it was, again, isolated. Which meant it was tranquil. One could truly commune with oneself in this secluded location, which made it perfect for chakra control improving meditation exercises, or simple introspection.

The lake was also good for stamina training.

Nothing encouraged you to push past your limits like a piranha the size of a cow, or a river serpent with a mouth large enough to swallow you (and your family) in a single gulp.

That said, Genma was an unconventional teacher. He at least thought so.

He would teach his students how to climb up a tree with chakra, of course.

Only after they could climb the tree _without_ chakra, of course.

The chakra bit was supposed to make it easier. Do the hard way first. Only way you'll improve.

To Genma's surprise, Naruto began to slide down the tree, his fingers tearing up strips of bark and carving deep gouges in the hard wood beneath. He came to a stop next to Ami, putting his hand on her shoulder and a waving her onward.

Genma smiled. Of them all, he expected Naruto to have the greatest problem with teamwork. But he supposed that the boy was flexible, adaptable. Just like his parents.

The boy shouted up at Tobio, and the boy shouted in response.

He let go of the tree, and fell, right into Naruto's waiting hand.

As he watched them discuss how in the hell they were going to climb the rest of the tree, Genma found himself smiling broadly.

"Team work? Hm. Look at that. Guess they pass."

Genma had of course, '_forgotten_' to tell them that climbing the tree was a test.

He was an optimist of sorts.

* * *

The next day found Team Five at the barbeque restaurant. Naruto and Tobio sat opposite each other, their sensei and teammate watching them intently.

Gradually, other patrons began to watch, the rapid beat drawing attention.

Naruto's hand was pressed on the table, palm down, as was Tobio's.

Each of them held a knife.

Their knives danced over their hands, darting down in the space between their fingers, flipping into the air and switching hands before darting back down.

Genma thought it was an impressive display of skill.

Naruto and Tobio just wanted to know who would screw up first.

They had started simply. Chopsticks, on their own hands.

Then escalated, chopsticks, on each others hands.

Then escalated further. Knives (Tobio's, Naruto wasn't cruel enough to use his own black blades on something like this) on each others hands.

Further.

Knives, on both of their hands. At once.

It had evolved into a bizarre dance.

A dance that could end in the loss of a finger if either of them screwed up.

Tobio's hand brushed against Naruto's.

His rhythm was thrown off.

His knife went down, into his own hand.

The string of expletives that burst from Naruto's mouth made even Genma feel embarassed.

A head of dark blue hair wound its way into Naruto's line of sight, and a pair of worried pale lavender eyes.

"N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto's cursing stopped and a smile appeared on his face, he waved nonchalantly with his right hand. His left was still pinned to the table by the knife, "Hey Hinata-hime. We were just-" Tobio tugged at the knife, eliciting another bought of cursing from Naruto, "-playing a little game. Got a bit out of-" Ami tugged at the knife, Naruto cursed again, and restrained himself from slapping the girl, "-hand I guess. Nothing to be worried abo-" Genma gripped the knife firmly and pulled it out of Naruto's hand, "-uuuuuuut." Naruto slumped over, nursing his bleeding hand.

Hinata looked at the boy, at her team, and back to the boy. She looked back at her sensei, who smiled kindly and gestured for her to go. One stammered thanks later, Hinata was by Naruto's side, a roll of bandages and jar or healing salve in her hands.

She ignored his protests, pulling the glove off his hand and unwrapping the cloth that covered it entirely.

She gasped, slightly. She knew Naruto would notice, but couldn't help herself.

His nails were long, and pointed. They were also black, and looked._..rotten_, flaky, almost like brittle chalk or stone_._ She wondered if it was a result of the volcanic hell he had lived in for ten years of his life. Beyond that, his hand was covered in black markings, lines and swirls and curves of impossible delicate detail. His entire hand was covered, up to his fingertips, and from what she could tell, the markings continued up his arm.

He jerked his hand away from her and began rewrapping it, "Thanks Hinata-hime. But I'll be fine, I heal fast. Go with your team. I'll see you later."

She looked at him with her pale eyes, and he coughed nervously.

"I'll tell you...later. Alright. Just please...go." He sounded almost desperate. She nodded and walked past him, and back to her team.

Naruto stiffened as she did so, her hand briefly trailing on his shoulder.

He came back to his surroundings to find his team staring at him.

Ami spoke first.

"Hey, Naruto-kun. Your nails? Yeah, they're fucking gross."

* * *

A week later found Team Five in Training Ground Thirty-Two, beating the crap out of each other.

Ami rushed in, a wild shout on the wind, her club rocketing towards the back of Naruto's head.

Though, club is inaccurate.

It was a bat.

For baseball.

"_**GRAND SLAM!**_"

The bat connected, and Naruto felt like his eyes were going to explode.

Still, he allowed himself to tumble forward, falling into a handspring, which he turned into a spinning kick. Pivoting on his hands, his legs spread out, he managed to catch both Tobio and Ami in his attack.

Tobio took it in stride, spinning with the momentum. His knife flew forward, and embedded itself into Ami's bat. She frowned, tore it out, and flung it back.

Right as Naruto stood.

The blade rocketed past him, cutting his cheek in its flight.

He jerked around, his body nearly parallel to the ground as he rushed towards Ami.

He dipped forward, planting his hands on the ground.

He flipped up, driving his foot into her shoulder in a spectacular falling kick.

Tobio's knife dug into his calf.

Ami and Tobio had discovered early on that Naruto could suffer tremendous amounts of punishment, and recover in a matter of minutes. This allowed them to spar with him more freely, to stretch their abilities to the limit.

For Naruto to do that, he had to fight Genma.

(Speaking of...)

Genma dropped from the upper boughs of the large tree like a bolt of lightning, cratering the ground where he landed before lashing out with a series of lightning quick punches.

Tobio counted.

He had been struck twenty-four times in the span of a second.

He flew backwards, landing with a splash in the shallows of the lake.

He was promptly attacked by a medium sized river serpent, the thing's muddy blue skin slick and thick enough to protect it from the boy's knives.

Genma would help him if he really needed it.

Naruto pulled the knife out of his leg and threw it.

Ami took an aerial approach, dropping from above him with her bat at the ready.

With a sound like static, Genma vanished, letting Ami strike nothing but the ground, and driving his knee into Naruto's stomach.

Naruto remained in place, and punched Genma in the face.

Rather, he tried to.

He had forgotten about the senbon in Genma's mouth, and only succeeded in stabbing himself in the hand.

As he struggled to pull the needle out of his hand, Genma punched him in the face.

Once.

Twice.

And the blonde collapsed onto the ground, blissfully unconscious.

The girl was the only one left.

She swung the bat.

Genma met it with his fist, splintering it and disarming her.

His leg swung up and hit her stomach, leaving her groaning on the ground.

He smiled and pulled his senbon out of Naruto's hand, rinsing it in the lake before putting it back in his mouth.

Tobio's panicked screams were ignored. He was fine. The snake had no teeth.

"Well, that went well."

* * *

Another week, and Naruto discovered that he hated cats.

Hated.

With burning passion.

Particularly orange cats. Orange cats with overly affectionate owners with connections to political office.

His sentiments were shared by his team.

Except for Tobio, the cat had never scratched him, and allowed him to carry it without protest.

Naruto was glad he healed quickly, or his face would be a patchwork of mauled meat.

Ami was gingerly touching her arms.

Which were a patchwork of mauled meat.

The blonde sighed and produced knife.

He cut his palm, and placed his hand on her wounded arm.

Within instants, they were healing.

His team looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"K-Kekkei...Genkai?"

They blinked, almost in unison, and nodded.

Tobio gave a noncommittal sound of agreement.

Genma was smiling.

* * *

Three months. Three months Naruto and Team Five had been doing D-class missions. Retrieving cats, walking dogs, weeding gardens, painting fences.

If not for the training they were doing with Genma, he would have gone mad from the tedium.

Even though Genma had yet to actually _teach_ them anything beyond walking up the tree with their chakra, choosing to focus more on improving the skills they already had.

And they had improved, significantly.

Genma's training methods were unusually direct, but effective nonetheless.

But where was the opportunity to showcase their skills while planting beans?

Where was the opportunity to advance? To move closer to their dreams.

Naruto was growing restless, Hinata's absence from the village only served to aggravate him further.

A mission to a country a short journey away, or something.

Nothing dangerous.

Nothing too extended.

But she was gone for a week already.

He was growing restless.

Brimstone and smoke.

A knock on his door, and the grating voice of Ami, the level voice of Tobio, the mellow voice of Genma.

He opened his door, (brimstone and smoke) and looked at his team. It was late in the evening, they shouldn't be here. "_What._"

Genma cleared his throat, "We're being dispatched, along with another team. One of our teams has encountered a...significantly more challenging obstacle than the mission parameters originally suggested. Team Five, that's us, and Team Seven are being dispatched. Backup."

Naruto grumbled, this is the sort of mission he had wanted, but...she could be back tomorrow. He needed to relax.

"What team?"

Genma checked his scroll, "Team Eight."

Naruto stiffened. "When do we...when do we leave?"

His sensei produced a backpack, already loaded with supplies, and handed it to him.

"Now."

* * *

AN:_ Alrighty then. This took...a bit longer to write than I thought it would. That makes me unhappy, because it means I've made you guys wait longer._

_I've been trying to update every week, usually saturday, but I just haven't had the juice to write this chapter. Anyways._

_Onto the meatier bits of Aflame._

_As usual, review, comment, criticize. Please, feedback people. I need it, and I haven't been getting any. It hurts my liver like a bottle of bad tequila. Stop hurting my liver like a bottle of bad tequila._


	6. A Note, A New Medium, and A New Choice

Hooooooly shit. Now, given my track record, this is usually the point where situations in my life, and my own intermittent depression would rear their ugly heads and kick my ass.

That would be the point where I would look at whatever progress I had made with a story, the direction of the plot, the characterizations in the story, the overall flow of the narrative, and promptly curl my lip in disgust and make plans to restart the fic under a new pseudonym.

This is my cycle.

This is me attempting to BREAK it.

This is not the end of Aflame, not by a long shot.

This will be a rebirth of Aflame, a migration to a different medium of expression, a different medium of narration.

I will be turning Aflame into a comic.

I hesitate to call it a manga, because I'm no mangaka. My art is decent, and at the beginning of this project, my level of skill will probably turn some readers away. But, practice makes perfect right? Even Kishimoto and Kubo experienced art evolution, right? N-not that I'm arrogant enough to compare myself to them.

In any case!

While I work on the ambitious project, I don't want to leave you all without my literary stylings. Given that you're undoubtedly somewhat butthurt over this temporary abandonment of Aflame, I'll let you, my readers, choose what you'll read in the meantime.

**Weeping Leaves:*** Naruto is flung into the war torn era of the Clan Wars. He must learn to survive in an era far different from his own, among men and women who are legends in his time. Allegiances are made, bonds are forged, and the future might never be the same. (OCs, back-to-back-baddasery, and awkward time travel shenanigans) - _This is one half of a concept I want to explore, that I haven't seen done a) enough, b) well enough. What would happen if Naruto went back in time to a point that really truly shaped the world he's familiar with? If you vote for this one, include what part of Naruto's life he should be sent back from. Your options are __**A)**__ Post-Timeskip-Pre-War __**B)**__ 4th Shinobi War __**C)**__ Post-War (Hokage!Naruto)_

**The Lost****:* **Naruto is flung into the future during his training on Kumo's Island Turtle. The world he arrives in suffered for his absence. In the wake of the Jubi's revival, friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and a broken world just might begin to mend. (Grimdarkness, large quantities of UST, and more awkward time travel shenanigans) - _This is the other half of a concept I want to explore, that I haven't seen done a) enough, b) well enough. What would happen if, at a crucial point in time, Naruto was shunted off to a point in time after he would have made all the difference? Now, while I say that he gets sent off during his training at the Island turtle, you can choose either __**A)**__ Post-Timeskip-Pre-War __**B)**__ 4th Shinobi War (Island Turtle Training)_

**Heart of Stone, Will of Fire****:* **Identified by an infiltrator from Iwa following the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto is identified as the son of Minato Namikaze, and taken. Raised as a loyal shinobi of Iwagakure, Naruto finds himself conflicted. On one side is Iwa, his home, his family, his love. On the other are the cracks in his hardened heart, screaming for him to do what's right. (Badass!Naruto, Naruto/Kurotsuchi, AU) -_ This is something that has occurred to me several times. Naruto has run/been taken to Suna, Kumo, Kiri, and any number of obscure villages, but in my experience, I've not found a single fic where he is raised in Iwa. Now, I understand that Iwa has a massive hatred to Minato. I also think, given Ōnoki's personality and the general tendency Iwa has for underhanded tactics, that it would be so very like them to take Naruto and turn him into a weapon against Konoha, sort of as a way to say "Hey, look, we have the son of your greatest Hokage, and there's nothing you can do about it." I'm upping the age to fifteen or such, since there's probably going to be some stuff that I'm just not comfortable writing twelve year olds doing._

*All of these are working titles, they might change, might not.

Choices given, I'm probably going to write all three of these eventually. But your votes determine the order that I write them in. These choices will be put on my profile page as well, along with a poll for voting.

I thank you for your patience and cooperation.

-FuMaouChu


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